Fluff
by Lemon Cream
Summary: Takuya is hopelessly impatient and couldn't properly roast a marshmallow if his life depended on it. Kouichi, being a master of patience, offers his assistance. Exactly what it says: short, sweet, fluff. Hint of TakuyaxKouichi.


Disclaimer: The author takes absolutely no stake or claim on any characters mentioned.  
>Warning: Extremely light shounen-ai.<p>

A/N: This story was originally written for a friend of mine named "Aki," who loved Takouichi and hated that there never was any. That was like two years ago. I never did upload it after writing it. I guess I felt like it wasn't ready.  
>I've lost touch with her now I'm afraid, so I can't even tell her I finally finished it xD<br>If you ever find this Aki, drop me an e-mail. I'd love to talk with you again.

Fluff

There was a trick to making the perfectly toasted marshmallow, and Takuya did not know it. The impatient boy would simply stick the thing straight into the fire, let it catch ablaze, and then blow it out. Then, even though it was burnt to a crisp, and even though it was still screaming hot, he would shove the whole thing into his mouth, make anxious motions indicating that he was experiencing extreme pain as the blackened treat gave him first degree burns, swallow it, and then pick up another one and start all over again.  
>Kouichi knew the trick to making perfectly toasted marshmallows, and he knew that it was the low and slow method. He held it exact the right height above the fire, for exactly the right period of time, and giving it a quarter turn at precisely the right moments. Only someone with a little patience could enjoy the perfect toasted marshmallow, and thank God, he was blessed with a ton of patience.<p>

Takuya just did not possess this skill.

Takuya and gang, plus Kouichi, were currently lounging around a tall, smoky fire that had been put together at the last minute in the small but existent backyard included in the Minamoto residence. A bag of marshmallows was quickly found, and so began the toast-a-thon. Each child had their own method of eating their mallows. Takuya and Kouichi used their aforementioned methods. Kouji was the extreme opposite of Takuya's method; he held his marshmallow too far away from the fire for any real toasting to be done, and he would not be told a better method. Junpei melted marshmallows on top of chocolate squares and graham crackers. Izumi mimicked Takuya's method of sticking it straight in the fire, but she carefully peeled off the burnt skin, and licked up the gooey center instead. Tomoki had also attempted to mimic Takuya, but had ended up putting a still flaming marshmallow into his mouth. Now he ate them straight out of the bag, raw, and he was quite happy to do so.  
>Kouichi was the only one patient enough to toast a damn fine marshmallow, the correct way, and each and every one was perfectly golden brown and delicious. He was thoroughly enjoying his marshmallow experience when Takuya began to complain.<p>

"These marshmallows always taste too burnt," he pouted.  
>"That's because you set them on fire," Kouji informed him sardonically, and Junpei snickered.<br>"Why don't you peel off the burnt part like I do?" offered Izumi.  
>"Because that gets my fingers all sticky and you end up licking the stick."<br>"You could actually toast them the correct way," Kouichi offered, and Kouji immediately snapped back at him,  
>"We all have the way we think is right. Me, I think yours are way too dark, and I think my way is perfect." Kouji's took so long to roast that he had barely had four of the things, while his brother had already enjoyed ten.<br>"You should probably stop eating them, Takuya-onii-chan," said Tomoki as he hypocritically popped another one in his mouth. "You've had a lot already."  
>"But they're sooo good. Or they would be if I didn't feel like they were being mixed with soot in my mouth..."<br>"Then maybe we should call it a night," suggested Junpei, as he also hypocritically shoved another s'more into his mouth. However, Izumi agreed afterwards, was followed by a confirmation from Tomoki and then another from Kouji. Kouichi, however, offered to teach his friend the correct way of toasting a marshmallow, though he had low hopes that he would succeed.

And so rest of the gang piled back into the Minamoto home while Takuya and Kouichi remained outside, teaching him how to secure the marshmallow so that it wouldn't fall off the stick mid-roast.  
>"You don't have to be so precise about it, Kouichi," Takuya complained. "It's not rocket science; it's roasting a marshmallow."<br>"Cooking a tasty marshmallow is a science in itself," Kouichi replied. After he ensured that Takuya's marshmallow was secure, he let it go, and motioned towards the fire. "Just put it a little bit above the fire-"  
>Takuya didn't stick it IN the fire, but he stuck it near enough where it was easily licked by the flames. In moments it had caught fire. It was immediately blown out, but there was a big burnt black spot bubbling on the bottom.<br>"Oops," Takuya said sheepishly. Kouichi sighed.  
>"Just let it fall in the fire and try another one." The mallow was dropped into the flames, where it promptly exploded into goo. Takuya laughed.<br>"We should do that with an entire bag!" he said eagerly, and Kouichi protectively held the bag close, lest he try actually attempting this.

Takuya tried to learn the precise art of marshmallow toasting again and again, and while he failed as many times as he tried, Kouichi did notice he was steadily getting better, until…  
>"Takuya, you did that on purpose," he accused when the current marshmallow lit up into flames.<br>"Yeah, because this is getting boring." He sighed, frustrated, and broke the stick he was using in half, throwing it into the fire. "This is so dumb. Why can't I just eat a marshmallow how I want to?"  
>"Sure you can, but won't you go back to complaining about how bad they taste?" He mumbled in response. Kouichi was beginning to feel like he'd completed wasted his time at this point, so he said to him in a purposely childish whine,"Come on buddy, one more for me. Try to make the perfect marshmallow for my sake?"<br>"Why's it so important to you?" Kouichi just shrugged, now feeling sheepish himself. "Alright, alright. I'll try again." Without waiting for a response, Takuya grabbed Kouichi's old stick and firmly planted a mallow on it, and he diligently held it far above the fire, but not too far, letting the heat cook the fluffy mass.

It took a long time; at least it seemed like it. Kouichi had never quite realized how long cooking the perfect marshmallow really took, especially compared to being alone when talking with friends. Takuya looked completely focused on the roasting process, not at all distracted, but Kouichi was getting a little uncomfortable. After all, it was Takuya he was sitting with.  
>"Done," Takuya said very purposely. He gently lifted the marshmallow away from the fire, and Kouichi found, to his astonishment, that it was in fact perfectly toasted, golden brown all around and not in the slightest bit melted. Kouichi actually began to softly clap, and Takuya grinned.<br>"Good job! That's really well done! Now you can actually eat a good tasting marshmallow." Takuya shook his head.  
>"Nah, I want you to have it." Kouichi was a little taken aback.<br>"What?"  
>"Well, I did it for you, remember? You said, 'One more for me!' and that's the one this is. So I sort of owe you a marshmallow."<br>Kouichi rapidly shook his head. "No way; I've already had my fill. Besides you earned it; you made it. You stuck with it. Me, I just complained about your abstract methods."  
>"Still, you told me how to do it. Eat the damn marshmallow Kouichi; it's gonna get cold."<br>When he made it clear he wasn't going to accept the whole marshmallow, Takuya finally sighed and took a bite out of it, eating half. Kouichi figured it was finally over and he began to stand, but Takuya held the stick out to him again. On it was the other half.  
>"There. Now I've enjoyed it, and you can still enjoy it. It was pretty good, by the way," he confessed. When Kouichi still did not take the stick, he stressed, "Reeeeally good!" and waved it in his face.<br>Kouichi finally submitted and took the stick. Awkwardly he put the remainder of the marshmallow in his mouth, tasting how gooey and sweet and slightly caramelized it was. It really was a damn fine marshmallow; almost better than one of his own.  
>"Very good," he muttered. "Thanks."<br>"Thanks yourself. So let's go inside now, okay? The others probably think we've lost our minds."

Kouichi might not have thought anything of it. After all, Takuya was just a person accustomed to sharing because he had a little brother. Maybe sharing food wasn't really an intimate thing to him and he didn't find anything strange about the marshmallow thing. And Takuya certainly hadn't been as awkward being around him as he had; it seemed he didn't think much of the experience other than it being a friendly interaction. Kouichi might not have even humored the idea that his friend may also have a little crush on him in return.  
>But the guy stood up and brushed himself off, and pulled Kouichi up too. He helped brush him off, completely without reason, and when Kouichi gave him a questioning glare, he just grinned.<p>

Kouichi might also not have thought anything of this, except that before he could reach down and retrieve what few marshmallows remained in the bag, Takuya had put his arms around his shoulders and was already leading (and pulling him) to the house.  
>"You're a pal, Kouichi. Thanks."<br>"For what?"  
>"For all that, dummy."<br>"For teaching you how to toast a marshmallow? Do you really have such low expectations for your friends?"  
>"Don't even; you sound like Kouji," Takuya teased, and he chuckled when Kouichi gave him a glare. "Just take the damn compliment and don't worry about it."<br>"I didn't mind showing you something that simple, Takuya; it wasn't too bad."  
>"It was just nice to spend some time with you, that's all. It's not that complicated; it's as simple as that."<p>

And though Takuya called it simple, as they walked together back to the Minamoto home, Kouichi compared his inner dilemma to what Takuya had said to him earlier. After all, it wasn't rocket science; it was just toasting a damn marshmallow. Takuya being grateful for his help wasn't rocket science either, but Kouichi couldn't help but wonder if there might be anything more to it than that, and if, at a later point, Takuya would be open to more than a suggested toasting method.

Kouichi wasn't exactly sure of the finer points of love yet, but Takuya had taken the time to learn how to roast a marshmallow. He figured it would only be fair.


End file.
